Building frame unit



Nov.

ING FRAME UNIT D L I U B A. 5 9 l 6 l t p e S d e l .l F

Mei M Nov. 14, 1961 w. E. coFFEY BUILDING FRAME UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 16, 1954 United States Patent Chico 3,008,195 Patented Nov.lll, 1961 3,008,195 BUILDING FRAME UNIT William E. Coley, Excelsior,Minn., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to ContemporaryStructures, Inc., Excelsior, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota FiledSept. 16, 1954, Ser. No. 456,549 3 Claims. (Cl. 20-.S)

This invention relates to building construction and more particularly toa buildin-g frame unit.

'In contempor-ary type architecture, there has been a growing tendencyfor simplicity in the design of dwelling and small buildingconstruction. For example, rustictype singlefstory Ihouses are oftenconstructed so that the underside of the roof member constitutes theceiling of the inner structure.

Also, partitions defining room structure are often constructed so as tobe light and non-loadbearing. In some instances the partitions are soconstructed as to be shiftable to alter the character of the building.

Construction of contemporary buildings of this type requires a at andlow roof and therefore the building frame must necessarily be strongenough to support the roof ltogether with additional load such as snowwhich may collect thereon, and be strong enough to withstand additionalforces such as high The usual outside wall structure comprises woodenstud members 2" x 4" in cross-section and placed edgewise and verticallyat 16 or 24 inches apart. The top Iand bottom ends of the stud membersare usually tied together with upper and lower plates, the platesfurnishing fastening means to secure the wall structure together withthe foundation and with the roof structure. Window and door openings areframed into the walls during construction. Once the wall frame has beensecured in position upon the foundation, the remainder of the buildingmay be constructed in a number of dilerent ways. The roof frame in theconventional structure of the class described is usually made up of roofrafters spaced apart the same distance as the wall studs andcompressively supported by the wal-ls and by partitions constructedwithin the building. Outer sheathing is nailed to the dat outer edgeofthe wall studs and outer covering such as siding may then be securedto the sheathing. Similarly, roof boards, decking, shingles and otherroof materials may be secured at the upper edge of the -roof rafters.The floor is constructed of joists and may be worked into the wallstructure with the outer ends of the oor joists supported on the wallplates, or the floor may be rst formed with the floor joists directly onthe foundation and the outer wall structure secured peripherally on theiioor structure.

The standard construction above described in all events presupposes -aVcomplete -wall structure attached to, but not rigidly stressed with,the floor and foundation at the lower edges of the wall, and attached tobut not rigidly stressed with the ceiling or roof joists and thewallpartitions. -In other words, the conventional frame struc turepre-supposes practically all the stress on the wall and partitionstructures in the lform of compression. 'Ilhe lateral stability of suchframe structure is obtained through corner connections between joiningwalls and partitions and by virtue of internal bracing of the separatewall, oor and roof elements.

It is the contemplation of this invention and an important objectthereof, to provide a framing unit which, when incorporated in abuilding structure, will efciently and economically provide strength andrigidity throughout its peripheral length for the mutual support offloor, wall and roof membe It is a 'further object of the invention toprovide a frame unit which will have self-contained rafter, stud and 2joist qualities for defining peripheral support for all sides of abuilding and which can be rigidly tied together in horizontally spacedrelation.

lt is a still further object of the invention to provide a plurality ofbuilding frame units, each having provision for receiving horizontalribbands in rigid connection and in planar relation with the edges ofsaid units, to which can be directly fastened wall panels or sheets.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide unitary framemembers Vfor building construction of the class described which willsimplify and cheapen the construction `of such buildings while providinga pleasing appearance and a rugged long-lasting structure.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout `the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the end section of a frame constructionembodying my invention, the section showing an intermediate frame unitand an end unit with the horizontal braces anda representative number ofroo-f and iioor boards in position; the remainder of the structure iscut away to better show the cooperation of the parts; and

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of Ithe building frame unit, all the partsbeing separated for clarity but maintaining their relative positions asthey appear in the rigid and complete unit.

With continued reference to the drawing, the truss rafter is indicatedgenerally at 10 and is sh-own in structural relationship to the othermembers in a housing construction in FIG. l andin individual parts inFIG. 2. The truss rafter comprises a plurality of elongated rectilinearboards which Iare secured together in a special way to provide internalstrength in the truss rafter itself as well -as in conjunction with theother members of the frame. 'Ihe several portions of the truss rafterare outer boards 11 and 12 which abut at slightly angulated ends 13 and14 respectively to form the peak portion of a roof, the pitch ordinarily-being maintained at a low rate for the type of structure shown. Theouter ends of the respective boards 11 and 12 may be cut angularly at 15and 116 respectively, the ends extending outwardly to overhang the sidewalls. A similar pair of outside members 17 and 18 are provided Iandlikewise have the same end pieces cut in the same manner so as toduplicate the rst mentioned pair :of members 11 and 12. An innerelongated board 19 has the same width at its flat side as that of themembers 11 and 17 and is adapted to be glued in laminated relation bysuch common wood gluing medilun as resorcinol glue. The ends of theboard 19 fall short of the corresponding ends 13- and 15 of boards 11and 17, the most central end 20 lying usually a matter of a foot or sofrom end 13, and the outer end 21 terminating at the inner surface ofthe wall structure. A gap 22 is created between the end 21 of board 19and the end 23 of the iilller piece 24 which in turn has an outer end 25which registers with the outer end 15 of board 11. Another inner board26 may be identically laminated between the outer truss rafter members12 and 18 with the end filler 27 similarly positioned so as lto producethe gap 28 at the other side of the truss rafter.

A special collar joist 29 is adapted to interiit between the angularpeak formed at the juncture of edges 13 and 14 on all -four of themembers 11, 112, 17 and 18, the collar joist having upper edges 30 and31 which lie in 4the sam-e plane with the respective top edges of boards11,

17, 19 and 24 at one side, and with boards 12, `18, 26 and 27 -at theother side. The end edges of the collar joist v 29 are arranged so thatedge 32 will abut against edge Z of `the intermediate board 19, and edge33 will abut against Ithe corresponding end 20 of the intermediate board 26. The loweredge 34 of collarjoist 29 is formed inv otset relationw-ithrespect to the lower edges of vall of the other truss rafterboards, Ithe collarjoist then taking a reinforcing position with 4theedge 34 appearingV below the peak in a web-like relationshipwith theother elongated and rectilinear members of the truss rafter as shownmore clearly in PIG. 1. All of the members comprisinggthe truss ratterVare'intended =to be rigidly glued together and may, Yin addition, haveother fastening means such as bolts 35, but these fastening means arenot essential to the operation of 4the truss rafter if the members 'areproperly adhered with a good quality of glue.`

The bottornportionrrof my frame unit is the door joist which isindicated generally at 36 and may simply comprise several rectilinearboards such as the outer members 37 at oneside, the outerV members 38 atthe otherl sidegand the intermediatemembers 39 of correspondingdimensioninterposed in laminated relation with the outer mem-bers, Thesedoor joist members may be made of shorter lengthboards, especially wherethe span is in excess of 8 or lGvfeet, and it is only necessary in suchcase'that the abutting positions ,typified by 4i) between the members 37and 41 between the members 38, be in staggered relation with respect tothe abutting position -42 of the intermediate .\:neml.ers 39, Vall 'asset forth in FIGS. l and 2.V `in order to obtain a better interiittingrelation with other portions of the frame as will be presentlydescribed, itis preferred that the intermediate board members 39 be Vcutof such a length'that the ends 43 will fall short of the ends 44 of therespective outer members 37 and 38. The recessed Iarea forrned by theoiiset relationship between ends 43 with respective and correspondingends 44 is of a predetermined amount so as to permit snug interlockingof the interconnecting members which complete the frame unit.

The remaining members for completing the lframe unit are the pair ofstud members indicated generally at 45, one each being mountable at aside `of the fname unit as shown fin FIGS. l and 2. The stud membercomprises a vertical rectilinear board, preferably an ordinary 2 x 4board 46, having an upper end 47 which is cut atthe same angle as theupper edge of truss rafter boards 11, 17 and 19, and the lowerendV 48`of which is cut square to correspond with the lowermost edge of theunit at the floor joist. The board 46 has at least one outer memberlaminated thereto, and preferably two, one at each side as shown at 49and 50. The outside laminations of the stud 45 are preferably formedoi2E X 6 stock with the outer edges 51 and y5T. respectively lying inthesame'plane with each other and adapted to lie in the same plane asthe end edg 44 of the members 37 and 38 in the floor joist construction.'Ihe members 49 Aand 50 are'laminated in'adhering relation with the 2 x4 member 46, the respective upper edges 53 and 54 -being adapted to abutagainst theunder edge of the outer members 11 and 17 in the truss rafterwhile the intermediate board 46 has its upper end 47 extending inclose-litting relation in the gap 22 and in abutting relation with ends21 and 123 of respective boards 19 and 24. The stud member 45 may beglued at all contacting surfaces with the truss rafter 10, but it ispreferred that the projecting end of the board 46 which terminates inthe upper edge '47, be bolted through the outer'members 11 and 17 of thetruss rafter 10 as shown at 55 in FIG. 1.

, The outer edges Sliand 52 ofthe respective boards 49 and '50 are:provided with atleast one recessed or notched areas or recesses areadapted to register in horicessed or notchedv areas S7 and'SSrespectively. These notched areasV or recesses are adapted to registerin horizontal alignment and the inside edges thereof are adapted` tolie in the same plane with the outer edge of the board 46'.' It desired,a plurality of notched or recessed areas 59 may be formed at the inneredges of the respective boards 49 and 50 and Vthese notched recesses arelikewise arranged in horizontal alignment with the innermost edgesthereof inY planar relation with the inwardly facing edge of board 46.OtherV recessed-notches 60 and 61 may likewise be formed at thelinwardly facing edges of the outer stud boards 49 and lSllras shown inFIG. 2, the horizontal alignment being preserved as previouslydescribed. The lowermost ends 62 and 63 of respective boards 49 and 50are adapted to abut against the upper edges of the outer boardlaminations 37 and 38 oi the iloor joist 36 when the stud isrplaced ininterconnecting relation between the truss rafter '10 and the oorjoist36. Again the Vstud member adjacent the lower end 4S of board 46 may besecured to the floor joist as by bolts 64 extending through the outerends of the door joist and through the lower depending end of the medial2 x 4 member 46 in the interconnecting stud member `45. As previouslypointed out, the stud member may be adhered with glue in laminatedrelation with the truss rafter and the iloor oist if so desired, but itis preferredv to mainY tain the frame unit in a partially knocked-downcondition for shipment with the easy assemblage of the stud membersthrough board -members 64 and 55 to the respective lioor joists 36 andtruss rater -10 as previously pointed out.

`The stud member 45 which isdisposed at the opposite side of the frameunit may have the identical parts formed with identical notch or recessareas vand interconnected in the identical manner with the correspondingportions of the truss rafter and ylioor joist at the other side of theentire assembly.V When the members are intertted, it will be observedthat the entire unitV lies in substantiallythe sameplane and thata'ri'gid framing member is formed in which stress applied at any pointabout the periphery of the unit will be transmitted to other portions ofthe rigid unit 'ina manner such as to assist in the distribution ofstress applied Vto the completed building rather than allowing eachseparate structural portion to stand completely kon its own meritswithout assistance from the other structural areas in the houseconstruction.

In the actual building construction, I may employ a number of completedwooden frame 'units as above described, placing them at spaced parallelintervals, preferably 6 feet apart,to achieve a strong and cheap houseconstruction. The end units are principally the samek as theintermediate frame Yunit Imembers andare preferably provided with aplurality of intermediate stud members which will giveadditionalstrength and provide support for such openings as windows and doors inthe end of the housing. The end frame unit is indicated 'generally at 65and has the same truss rafter construction as well as the same doorjoist and stud construction 'as the frame units illustrated in FIG. 2.Additional studs or columns 66 may be provided between the truss'rafterand the door joist as shown in FIG. l, appropriate notches or recessesbeing provided for intertitting the columns or studs therebetween. Thecolumns 66 are preferably cut with a top' edge 67 inhorzontal alignmentwith one of thelaminated members 68 of each of the columns 66 extendingupwardlybeyond the upper end 67 to engage the underside `of the trussrafter and give additional support at the outer frame unit 65 as shownin FIG. 1. A brace 69 may extend across the entire end unit 'in abuttingrelation with the upper ends 67 of each ofthe columns 66 as shown, thebrace 69 being glued or nailediniplace as shown.Y

When a plurality of wooden `frameY units are mountedV in interiittingrelation with respective outer edge notches or recesses 56, 57 and 58.'The brace '71 is of such dimension as to tightly iit within the notchesor recesses with the inwardly facing side of each of the braces in firmcontact with the outwardly facing edge of the board 46 and with theinnermost edges of the respective notches for attachment thereto. Thedimension of the braces 7i is also selected with respect to itsthickness such that the outwardly facing surface of each of the bracemembers will lie flush with the plane defined by the outwardly extendingedges of the stud members 49 and 50. The braces 71 are preferably nailedinto position so as to rigidly interconnect the spaced frame units andto rapidly construct the frame structure of a building,

Other brace members 7-2 may likewise be secured in interfitting relationwith the recessed or notched areas 59, 60 and 61 of the stud members 4S,the dimensions of the brace members being likewise selected so as torigidly interfit and provide a flush surface with the inwardly facingedges of the stud members 45 in the same manner as the braces `71cooperate with the outermost plane. It is understood that identical orsimilar braces for both the innermost plane and outermost plane at theopposite side of the building structure may be provided so as to form anailing media in iiush relation with the stud members as previouslydescribed.

When the frame members are mounted in the relationship disclosed, theupper edges of the individual truss rafters present a pair of pitchedplanes upon which roof boards 73 may be nailed or otherwise secured inthe conventional manner. Finished rooting products may be applied in theusual manner to achieve a warm and tight roof. Floor boards preferablyof 2 inch lumber are indicated at 74 and these kmay be secured to thefloor joists 36 to provide a strong iioor structure over which finishiiooring may be applied in the conventional manner. Since each of theframe units at the medial portion of the structure is of the clear spantype, the building construction will adapt itself to partitioning in anintinite number of positions without aecting the quality of the framestructure. The partitioning can add to the structural strength of thebuilding if it is so desired, but in any event will not detract from therigidity and strength which has been obtained through the speciallaminated construction and the special cooperation of theinterconnecting braces with the studs at each of the frame units.

It may thus be seen that I have devised a novel building frame unitwhich provides -a clearspan between the truss rafter and oor joist in avertical direction and between the opposed studs in a horizontaldirection, the frame unit having a rigidity and simplicity such that thecombination of only a few of such members when interconnected by flushbrace members will provide a cornplete framing structure ready forapplication of internal and external sheet wall construction and theapplication of rooting and flooring to produce a high quality buildingstructure. It will be noted that the clear span between the frame unitsin a horizontal direction may result in a situation where all of thestructural members including the brace members, iioor boards, sheathingand roof boards achieve their sole support from the frame units. Thestrength of the laminated floor joists coupled with the rigid frameconstruction obviates the necessity for additional floor joists as willbe observed from the construction shown in FIG. 1.

It will, of course, 4be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-contained wood framing unit comprising, a rigid closed framehaving side-to-side laminated construction deiining a floor joist, atruss rafter and interconnecting upstanding side studs, said side studshaving at least one rectilinear board with straight parallel outer andinner edges, and having laminated thereto at least one rectilinear boardhaving an edge in outwardly offset parallel relation to an edge of saidfirst mentioned board and a notch formed thereacross and extendinginwardly to the edge of said first mentioned board, whereby atransversely disposed brace may be fastened in said notch to the stud toprovide therewith a flush nailing surface and a strong interconnectionwith an adjacent and similar framing unit.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein the laminated secondmentioned rectilinear board has both side edges in outwardly offsetparallel relation to the corresponding edges of the lirst mentionedboard and notches are formed in opposed relation across the respectiveoutwardly offset portions and extending inwardly to each of therespective edges of the first mentioned board.

3. A self-contained wood framing unit comprising, a rigid closed framehaving side-to-side laminated construction deiining a floor joist, atruss rafter and interconnecting upstanding side studs, said side studshaving at least one rectilinear board with straight parallel outer andinner edges, and having laminated thereto at least one rectilinear boardhaving an edge in outwardly offset parallel relation to an edge of saidfirst mentioned board and a notch formed thereacross and extendinginwardly to the edge of said iirst mentioned board, whereby atransversely disposed brace may be fastened in said notch to the stud toprovide therewith a flush nailing surface and a strong interconnectionwith an adjacent and similar framing unit, said side studs also having arectilinear board at the other side of the rst mentioned rectilinearboard having its respective edges in outwardly offset parallel relationto the edge of said first mentioned board and having a notch formedthereacross opposite said irst mentioned notch and extending inwardly tothe edge of said irst mentioned board.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSl1,377,891 Knight May 10, 1921 1,673,788 Hobson lJune 12, 1928'2,042,370 Walker May 26, 1936 2,376,906 Davidson May 29, 1945 2,475,433McLaughlin July 5, 1949 2,480,330 Kump Aug. 30, 1949 2,638,637 Kump May19, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 504,290 France Apr. 9, 1920 375,240 Germany May8, 1923 864,683 France Jan. 27, 1941 730,259 Germany Jan. 8, 1943 OTHERREFERENCES Barracks for Shipment, The Architectural Forum, February1942, p. 91.

